Skinny skinny Rescue Boy

[shybird]

Hi all, need advice on amount to feed the new skinny boy. I forgot to ask the vet today, and it is probably ok that I did. I know your advice will be better. Moose is 82 lbs, but is very skinny. He is 27 inches tall. Vet says he at least needs about 38 lbs more.. Every bone shows big time. He was a stray. How long, don't know. Just that he spent 9 days in animal control and would have been PTS had I been an hour later. Vet checked for worms, heartworms and a bunch of other stuff. Everything is ok. Just needs to gain back the weight and hair from flea allergies. I started him on Innova adult. Using the guide lines on the bag I took the highest activity level and 140 lb size dog. Added one cup. Works out to be almost 7 cups. plus he gets Innova health bars size small for a treat. I know if I feed to much it will just come out the other end and be wasted. Do you think this is enough or to much? I want him to know he won't be hungry again, but I don't want to let him eat so much that his tummy stretches and will alway want more...to feel full...Any guide lines you think I should follow? I added yogurt tonight. Will probably start adding seaweed meal soon. Thanks for the help. and sorry this is so long. Shelter said he was about 3 and my Vet says he is much younger.. About 1 to 1 1/2 years... So he is 1 to 3 yrs of age.

[rottnkidd]

How wonderful you rescued this boy! His
gratefulness will show in years of loyalty and devotion to you. I'd suggest you
feed him smaller meals to start. I'd give him about 3 cups in the a.m., and 3 cups in the p.m. Maybe you cold add some fresh raw hamburger to his p.m. meal? Maybe a whole egg? You don't want to feed him TOO much at once, he can bloat, especially if he's eating ravenously. Be sure he always has access to fresh water in his bowl. I'd give him a couple of treats a day, and get him a nice big beef marrow bone from the grocery store. Don't cook it! He'll enjoy the chewing, and you'll like how nice and white his teeth will be! Toss it out when he's done with it. The marrow bones are weight-bearing bones and they're very hard. Too much gnawing can wear the
teeth down. Good luck to you!

[AngelBunny]

shybird:

Your boy's condition sounds similar to our foster boy's condition when we started fostering him. Lido was also picked up as a stray. At 27", he weighed 70.8 lbs when we first saw him (& he had put on abt 5 lbs before we got him). A sadder, scrawnier sorry-looking dog couldn't be found. Leeds' fur was thin, brittle, & Dry --totally nasty. He also was weak from poor muscle tone.

We fed him 7 cups, divided into 2 meals/day. He got vitamins C & E; we also gave him flax & cod liver oil 2x/week & abt 2-3x/week, he got a frozen raw beef marrow bone. We took him for walks when we took our girls out, but as soon as he started to lag, we returned home so he could rest & then went back out w/ the girls to finish their walk.

We feed our girls fruits & veggies & also fed them to Lido. It was obvious he'd never had this type of food before because he wasn't initially sure he liked them--he ate them with long teeth (as my mom would say). Now, he chows down his fruits & veggies as tho he's been fed them all his life.

It took him about 3 months to put on abt 20 lbs. Now he looks terrific--completely different dog.

[CarolineS]

Something else you can use to add calories is vegetable oil, canola oil is good. One tablespoon has 120 calories. Start out adding it slowly because a whole bunch at once could upset his digestion. Perhaps add a teaspoon per meal and gradually increase the amount. If you feed smaller meals, maybe even three a day and can build up to a tablespoon of oil at each meal, you've already added 360 calories to the daily intake without adding more bulk to the diet.

[shybird]

Yes, I have been splitting the feedings. . I give treats before I go to work, and off and on during the evening. Of course He has to do a sit or down just like the two girls do. I don't know if he is staying or not. My intentions are to find a new home for him. They don't give long enough time at that shelter for pets to find homes. But he needs to gain gain gain.....Thanks for the suggestions.

[RottnKid1]

Congratlations on your new rescue boy! It's fortunate that he has such good appetite. One of the dogs I rescued was so malnurished that she could only eat a few bites of food at a time. It took a good amount of time to get her into good shape.

Please keep us posted on his progress!

[Berringtons]

We rescued our little girl, Hannah, 5 weeks ago. When the foster mom picked her up, Hannah was apparently so tiny, thin and malnourished (and had hookworms), her age was estimated to be 2 months (she was almost 4 months).

She's 6 months old now, 17" at the shoulder and weighs 38 pounds, a gain of almost 2" and 10 pounds since 11/6, the day I picked her up. She's more lean than skinny.

I feed her puppy food for large breeds 3 times a day, a total of about 5 cups. Under normal circumstances, she should weigh quite a bit more than she does now. I'm sure she'll fill out even more eventually, however, should I be giving her a little more to compensate for her slow start? She's extremely active, but I'm very concerned that if we give her a cup or so more a day and she gains too quickly, we may be compromising her bone and muscle development. I don't want to tax her young system too much.

Carol